Ecomobile alternatives at the EcoMobility World Festival

Moving without cars

An ecomobile lifestyle is only possible with ecomobile vehicles as alternatives to the traditional personal automobile running on fossil fuels. The residents and visitors of the EcoMobility World Festival neighborhood had the opportunity to see and even try out about 80 different kinds of rare and innovative ecomobile vehicles catering for a wide range of mobility needs, including LEVs (Light Electric Vehicles) that are fun and exciting to ride, multi-person vehicles, as well as exercise-oriented vehicles. These vehicles from around 10 different countries featured often models not available or known in South Korea or even all of Asia yet.

On 700 square meters visitors and residents had access to a specifically for the EcoMobility World Festival set-up exhibition showcasing about 35 types of ecomobile vehicles to give a better idea of the range of ecomobile alternatives. Visitors could also rent city bikes from one of the bike rental stations in the neighborhood and residents were provided bikes for free by the City of Suwon. A real hit among young and old were certainly vehicles that can carry and transport multiple people or cargobikes for transporting goods in an easy and comfortable way. Their practical functions do not only easily substitute conventional cars, but also demonstrate the health benefits that come along with an ecomobile lifestyle. Overall, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. After trying out some of these innovative vehicles, many of the Festival visitors inquired about the possibility of purchasing one of these vehicles for future use. The Festival was a panoply of an ecomobile lifestyle with around 700.000 visitors counted at the EcoMobility exhibition, promotion booths and test track during the month-long Festival which enabled people to discover not only the health but also the fun factor coming along with an ecomobile lifestyle!

The next challenge is to bring the Haenggung-dong’s experiment beyond the walls of Suwon’s Hwaseong Fortress and have other cities, maybe even on a different continent, experience an ecomobile lifestyle during an EcoMobility World Festival.

VIP Ride

Two very special events were organized to promote EcoMobility to a number of international high-level visitors of the EcoMobility Festival and EcoMobility Suwon congress. As part of the kick-off celebrations of the month-long festivities, Mayor Yeom of Suwon, joined by mayors and diverse residents groups, led the Festival’s grand opening parade through the transformed ecomobile streets of Haenggung-dong. Witnessed by more than 5000 visitors the parade showcased a fleet of novel and innovative vehicles contributed by 40 eco-friendly manufacturers from more than 10 countries. The exclusive group of VIPs first wheeled through the with-media-packed neighborhood before joining the rest of the parade setting off to greet the people of Suwon with their ecomobile vehicles.

Mayors' Ride

Another highlight was the Mayors Ride at the most beautiful summer day, convening Mayors and high-level city representatives cruising through the ecomobile streets of the Festival area, enjoying the car-free environment. Led by Vice Mayor Lee of Suwon they chatted while riding, stopped at one of the Festival stalls to get some candy floss that was exclusively produced by pedaling on a special bike generating power for the machine, before returning to the EcoMobility Suwon congress they were participating in. The VIPs were in the best mood during the whole ride and quoted it as one of the most enjoyable events during their stay. – If that is not the best promotion for an ecomobile urban planning in each of their cities..!